This was my first pokemon game. So, I am bias and I do love this game. PRAISE THE EXP SHARE! Gone are the days of grinding now this game is strictly pick-up and play as progression in the game no longer becomes a chore. Also, I adored the mode wherein you could feed and pet your Pokémon to improve your friendship with them, which in turn allowed them to battle more effectively. MEGA EVOLUTIONS ARE DA BOMB. I can write a whole bullet list. I won't. So I will say, The story makes no sense (but Team Flare are cool), the gameplay loop is perfect, and Kalos is an excellent setting. Also, the after story was enjoyable.

I'm REALLY not a fan of Pokemon games. Even the ones that people say are really good, I rarely think are all that great. When I started this game I was really not expecting to enjoy it. This is easily one of the most disliked Pokemon games for being kind of the start of Pokemon's downfall so I was really worried because I'm already not super into these games, however to my surprise I thought it was pretty good.

The usual issues with these games that I find are still present. The battle system is basic and it's upsetting that it hasn't changed much in the main series besides Legends Arkoos and that's easily the biggest problem to me. These games are very boring especially at the start and they really esculate all that much until the endgame. This game just might be the worst case of it. I already knew about how easy this game would be so I decided to do a blind nuzlocke instead and the difficulty was still an issue. Most fights just boil down to swapping to whichever Pokemon had the effective move then executing it. I played the game in very small bursts over the course of a few weeks so it never got stale but if I had been any faster it easily would have been an issue.

Another common complaint is the story. Normally I don't think it's fair to call a Pokemon game's plot bad since they're all basically the exact same, however I can see where these complaints come from. The story had a lot of potential. I think Lysandre was actually a really cool villain but he's bogged down by being related to Team Flare who is easily the lamest evil Pokemon team. AZ was also a character I thought could have been really interesting if they gave him more time but they don't until the very end of the game. The main complaint I hear about the plot is the 4 rivals being too friendly. That's not the issue. The issue is that they're underdeveloped.The genderswap rival had some characterization but nothing super interesting or compelling. The other 3 each representing a different element of Pokemon games from filling out the Pokedex or just appreciating the Pokemon themselves. I think if fleshed out these could have been really cool characters but of course they aren't. Thankfully I think the future gens fix this even if they don't focus on more important aspects (such as making the games good.) To put it plainly, Gen 6 had A LOT of potential in its story that they just didn't go through with.

My favorite thing about this game besides the new Pokemon added has the be the region itself. At first I wasn't really enjoying it. Standard grass route and the first forest is copy paste Viridian forest from Gen 1. I was willing to ignore this though because at the time I assumed it was just them riding off the fact that the game was 3D so making the routes look super unique wouldn't be a priority. I was SO wrong. Kalos just might be the prettiest region in a Pokemon game. The early routes start off generic but they soon turned into sights that I was genuinely left me in awe. (My favorite is definitely the Pokemon League because its just this fucking massive castle where the camera starts to pan out as you approach it.)

The Pokemon designs are really good here. Gen 6 definitely went for a quality over quantity and it definitely shows. Greninja, Pangoro, Malamar, Tyrantrum, Sylveon, Hawlucha, Goodra, and Noivern are my favorites. I also love the Mega designs. My opinion of Sceptile who is my favorite Pokemon would be much lower if not for his Mega.

I no longer have high expectations for Pokemon and I don't see myself playing any of the future games, however Pokemon X and Y nail the aspects of Pokemon that I care about. The Pokemon, region and music are amazing and while I do agree that it has its flaws I don't think its fair to act like this game is the only Pokemon game that has them. This game is cozy. That's why I like it. Not my favorite Pokemon game but they definitely had way worse ones.